Posts tagged 007

Talking with Getty Images Entertainment, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson spoke on the possibility of Sam Mendes directing another 007 movie, after the ‘Skyfall’ helmer ruled himself out of directing the next Bond adventure, tentatively titled ‘Bond 24,’ because of work commitments, including theatre productions of ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ and ‘King Lear.’ “We will get him back,” Broccoli says. “We haven’t given up hope… Maybe not for the next one… but we will get him back again.” “We are working on him,” Wilson adds. “We hope that maybe he will have gotten inspired to come back.”

Sam Mendes added to Getty Images Entertainment about possibly directing another James Bond film, “I’m doing my theatre projects and then I’ll work out, when I’m able to clear my head, what I want to do next. I’ve never really repeated myself, done the same type of movie one after the other, so just give me a chance to think about what I actually want to say. Bond movies, they need someone working on it now. I’ve definitely left the door open though.”

MGM said on Tuesday (via Reuters) it expects to release the next James Bond movie, tentatively titled ‘Bond 24,’ within three years, and hopes to announce a new director soon. In a conference call with investors, MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Barber said the studio was developing the screenplay for upcoming ‘Skyfall’ follow-up. “We are very excited about the franchise, we look forward to announcing a director soon,” Barber revealed. “We are currently developing the screenplay and working with our partners. We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next 3 years it will be released.”

The ‘Skyfall’ director Sam Mendes recently revealed that he’s not returning to the directors chair for ‘Bond 24,’ citing his theatrical obligations to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “King Lear”, “It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.” He continued, “I feel very honoured to have been part of the Bond family and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again sometime in the future.”

TinyButDeadly has created this excellent fan-made poster for the upcoming ‘Skyfall’ follow-up, ‘Bond 24.’ TinyButDeadly captioned the teaser poster with the following: “A teaser poster I recently designed for the upcoming Untitled 24th Bond movie due for release in 2014, due to the lack of any information about the plot etc. I went for a sort of minimalistic approach. Hope you like it and keep an eye out for I have a couple of other ideas.” You can view the poster in hi-res here.

The ‘Skyfall’ director Sam Mendes recently revealed that he’s not returning to the directors chair for the tentatively titled ‘Bond 24,’ citing his theatrical obligations to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “King Lear”, “It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.” He continued, “I feel very honoured to have been part of the Bond family and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again sometime in the future.” With ‘Bond 24′ reportedly looking to start filming towards the end of 2013/early 2014 expect official news regarding the film shortly.

Speaking to Empire, Sam Mendes revealed that he’s not returning to the directors chair for ‘Bond 24,’ citing his theatrical obligations to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “King Lear”, “It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.” He continued, “I feel very honoured to have been part of the Bond family and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again sometime in the future.”

Empire also spoke with Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who are also hopeful we’ll see another Sam Mendes helmed Bond movie in the future, “We thoroughly enjoyed working with Sam, he directed our most successful Bond movie ever, Skyfall. We would have loved to have made the next film with him but completely respect his decision to focus on other projects and hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again.”

Speaking to the Radio Times at the UK gala screening of ‘Cloud Atlas,’ Ben Whishaw shared that he had not been in touch with Daniel Craig recently because, “We know that we’ll probably be back together again in about ten months.” Then, perhaps realising he’d said too much, he added, “Well, hopefully. Let’s hope so!” When Whishaw was asked who he’d like to see carry on the James Bond role after Daniel Craig, the actor said, “I know that he’s doing the next three so I’m not thinking beyond that. We’ve got to just get through those first.”

MI6′s resident gadgets man, Ben Whishaw is the first Q in the franchise’s history to be younger than 007. Q, a James Bond staple, hadn’t appeared in a 007 film since 2002’s ‘Die Another Day’ when John Cleese turned on the quirk for the role. For the previous 36 years, the gadget whizz and inventor had been played by Desmond Llewelyn. Questioned about his hopes for his character in ‘Bond 24,’ he joked, “Well obviously I would like just for him to be in it more!”

The Daily Mail’s Bam Bamigboye is reporting that director Sam Mendes is considering a return to the directors chair for the follow-up to Skyfall,’ known for now as ‘Bond 24.’ Apparently the Oscar-winner had initially been reluctant because screenwriter John Logan was planning to write a two-part 007 story that would have been shot back-to-back, which would have taken four years out of the director’s life. That “back-to-back” plan has been scrapped, with the 24th and 25th James Bond adventures now being stand-alone pictures.

The report goes on to say that Sam Mendes hasn’t firmly made up his mind about directing another Bond, but Bam’s sources tell him he’s ‘75 per cent’ of the way towards doing it. At present, John Logan’s thoughts for ‘Bond 24′ are in the form of two treatment papers outlining a rough idea of the plot. It sounds like Mendes wants to see the finished script before he fully commits. Bamigboye adds that pre-production on ‘Bond 24′ could start late this year or early 2014, though Mendes couldn’t work full-time until he has finished directing Simon Russell Beale in ‘King Lear,’ which opens at the National Theatre next January. Mendes is also putting together the musical version of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory,’ which begins performances at the ‘Theatre Royal,’ Drury Lane on May 18th.